Method and apparatus for treating shingles or shingle strips



B. C. BECKMAN METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TREATING SHINGLES OR SHINGLE STRIPS Filed Feb. 19. 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR BERNARD C. Bzckmlv BY/M ATTORNEY July 24, 1934. B. c. BECKMAN ,8 I

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TREATING SHINGLES OR SHINGLE STRIPS Filed Feb. 19, 1932 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR BERNARD C BEcKMAN ATTORNEY July 24,1934. c. BECKMAN 1,967,856

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TREATING SHINGLES OR SHINGLE STRIPS- le Fe 19. 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR BggNARD C. 55c KMAN ATTORNEY Patented July 24, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LIETHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TREATING SHINGLES OB SHINGLE STRIPS Application February 19, 1932, Serial No. 593,978

4 Claims.

This invention relates to the treatment of shingles or shingle strips and is more particularly concerned with a method of and apparatus for coating the butt portion and exposed edges of 5 shingles or shingle strips with waterproofing substance in order to thicken the butts and seal the edges.

It has heretofore been proposed to coat the butt portion and edges of shingle strips by immersing the elements successively, while supported with butt edges downward, in a stationary bath of weatherproofing substance such as high melting point asphalt in a molten condition. However, it has been found that when strips are immersed in the bath of molten asphalt and moved forward, they set up waves or currents within the bath which cause the upper edge of the coating on the strips to be irregular and the depth of the coating on difierent strips to be non-uniform.

Moreover, where the strips being treated are of a flexible nature, and are disposed in planes transverse to the direction of travel, the resistance of the viscous bath to the forward travel of the strips causes the strips to bend backward,- with the result that the strips are not deeply enough immersed in the asphalt and the upper edge of the coating does not extend far enough toward the upper edge of the shingle.

The present invention is designed to obviate the objectionable features of previous methods suggested for coating shingles and shingle strips. This, in accordance with the invention is accomplished by moving a body of the weatherproofing substance and each individual shingle or shingle strip immersed therein. at the same rate of speed, thereby avoiding relative motion between the element and the waterproofing substance and the consequent waves which would otherwise be set up. The efiect of moving a body or" weatherproofing substance in coordination with the shingle strip to be coated is substantially the same as immersing the strip in a vertical direction into a stationary bath of waterproofing substance and removing the strip again in a vertical direction, but the method herein contemplated has the additional distinct advantage in that it permits continuous and economical operation.

The invention contemplates the treatment of various kinds of shingles, including shingles made of wood but is particularly concerned with the treatment of shingles or shingle strips composed of a felted fibrous base which has been saturated with a waterproofing substance such as asphalt and preferably also coated with a thin film of high melting point blown asphalt.

The weatherproofing substance used in carrying out my invention may be high melting point asphalt in a heated molten condition or bitumen dispersed in an aqueous medium by means of bentonite or other dispersing media.

The invention further contemplates the provision of means for finishing shingle elements after they have been coated in the manner herein described.

Further objects and advantages will be manifest from the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which;

Figures 1 and 2 represent a diagrammatic side elevational view of a form of apparatus suitable for carrying out my invention;

Figure 3 is an enlarged, vertical sectional view of the tank forming part of the apparatus shown in Figures 1 and 2;

Figure 4 is an enlarged perspective view of one of the receptacles for carrying the coating substance into which the shingles or shingle elements are dipped; V

Figure 5 is an enlarged diagrammatic View oil one of the clamps for holding the shingles during the coating operation;

Figures 6 to 8 represent diagrammatically the successive stages in the approach of a shingle to a receptacle containing the coating substance;

Figure 9 is a diagrammatic side view showing the mechanism for opening the shingle-holding clamps.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 1 indicates a suitable framework upon which the apparatus for carrying out my invention is mounted. A pair of endless conveyor belts or chains 2, having clamps 3 pivotally mounted therebetween on rods 4 connecting the chains at spaced intervals, are trained around the sprocket wheels 5, 6, '7, 8, 9, 10, 10, 11, mounted on suitable shafts and driven, from a suitable source of power, (not shown) in the direction indicated by the arrows. A second pair of endless chains or belts l2, beneath the first pair, are trained around sprocket wheels 13 and 14. These sprocket wheels are mounted on shafts which are preferiii;

ably in vertical alignment with the shafts carthe lower stretch of the chains 2.

A series of receptacles 16 are pivotally supported at spaced intervals between the chains 12.

The receptacles 16 have bottoms 17 which are hinged at 18 to the bottom of one wall of the receptacle. The bottoms 17 are retained in closed position by means of automatically operable catches 19, fixed to a rod 20 and normally held in the closed position by suitable springs 19 secured between the forward wall of the receptacle and the upper ends of the catches. An arm 21 is fixed to the end of the rod which extends beyond one side wall of the receptacle. This arm is adapted to contact with a roller 22 extending inwardly from one side wall of the tank 15 whereby to open the catch and release the bottom 17 of the receptacle.

The tank 15 has an inlet pipe 23 and outlet pipes 24 for supplying and circulating the coating substance through the tank. If molten asphalt is used as the waterproofing substance it is preferably circulated through a suitable heating means (not shown) in order to maintain the temperature of the bath substantially constant. If necessary, heating coils may also be placed within thetank 15. The outlet pipes are opened and closed by a valve plate 25, rigidly mounted on one end of an arm 26 which, in turn, is pivotally mounted at 26' inside one of the end walls of the container 15. The opposite end of the arm 26 is extended and bent downwardly and has a fioat 2'7 slidably mounted thereon in order that any desired level may be automatically maintained in the tank. In any case the liquid level in the tank 15 is maintained below the bottom of the receptacles travelling with the upper reach of the chain 12. A roller 29 is mounted interiorly of the tank at any convenient point along the bottom thereof, and at such a height as to lie in the path of movement of the closure member 17 in its open position and substantially in the plane of the outer face of the closure member in its closed position. It will be seen that contact of the roller 29 with the bottoms of the receptacles 16 will cause the closure members to swing upwardly and be brought to closed position against the action of the springs 19.

Beyond the coating tank is an open ended chamber 30 within which are coils 31. A horizontally disposed conveyor belt 32 is located below and adjacent the sprocket wheel 10' and a hopper 33, for discharging comminuted grit upon the conveyor is mounted thereabove. The conveyor belt is supported upon pulleys 34, 35.

Suitable cam plates 36 and 37 mounted on the framework as shown in Figure 9, are adapted to co-act with the rollers 38 and 39 on the clamps 4. An inclined slide 40 is mounted adjacent the forward end of the conveyor 32 and a second horizontally disposed conveyor belt 41 is trained around pulleys 42, 43. A receiving hopper 44 is mounted beneath the forward end of the belt 32. A second discharge hopper is located above the conveyor belt 41. Above and contiguous to the pulley 40 is a press roll 46. A conveyor 47 is adapted to receive shingle elements from conveyor 41 and carry them in a substantially vertical position through an open ended chamber 48 containing heating or cooling coils 49 and 50.

In the operation of the process, the shingles or shingle strips are fed to the clamps 3 by hand or by any suitable mechanism. Aseach shingle, held by its clamp approaches the lower limit of vertical travel between the sprockets 6 and 7, it is confronted by one of the receptacles 16 emerging from the body of coating substance and containing a supply thereof. The conveyors 2 and 12, moving in the directions indicated by the arrows are timed so that a downwardly moving shingle unit will meet an upwardly moving receptacle and cause the shingle to dip into the asphalt contained in the receptacle as clearly depicted in Figures 6 to 8. The conveyors 2 and 12 travel along at the same speed, with the shingle immersed in the asphalt, until the catches 18 are tripped by the contact of the arms 21 with the roller 22 permitting the bottom of the receptacle to open thereby allowing the coating substance contained therein to be returned to the tank 15. As the conveyor chains pass around the sprocket 8, the shingles are withdrawn upwardly out of the receptacle and the receptacle passes downwardly around the sprocket 14 and into the bath of waterproofing substance where it is refilled and the bottom closed by means of the roller 29. If bituminous or similar emulsion is used as the coating medium the shingles are then passed through the chamber 30 heated by coils 31 to drive out some of the water contained in the dispersion, in order to render the coating of emulsion more viscous and tacky and thereby enable it to hold the comminuted material with which the shingle is to be surfaced. The shingles are then released from the clamps by the action of the cams 36 and 3'7 and allowed to drop onto the belt 32 containing a bed of comminuted material supplied from the hopper 33 whereby one face of the shingles is surfaced with wear-resisting material. The shingles are then transferred from the conveyor 32 to the conveyor 41 where the opposite faceof the shingles may be surfaced with other comminuted material discharged from hopper 45. The surfacing material is then pressed firmly into the coating by the press roll 46. The shingles may then be subjected to a drying treatment in the chamber 48 for completely setting the coating enveloping the butt portions and edges of the shingle. 1

Where the coating operation is performed with molten asphalt, the chamber 30 may serve either as a heating or cooling means to maintain the coating at the proper temperature for the surfacing operation, and the chamber 48 will serve as a cooling means to cool the shingles down to the proper temperature before packing and storing. Otherwise the operation is substantially the same as described in connection with the emulsion.

The depth to which the shingles may be coated, may be varied by regulating the level of the waterproofing substance maintained in the tank 15. Thus, for example, if it is desired to coat only a verynarrow strip'along the bottom edge, 130 the level of the coating is maintained at such a height that when the receptacles 16 are immersed in the bath they are only partially filled, through the open bottom, with waterproofing substance.

The process herein: described and claimed has 135 an additional advantage in that the continual movement of the receptacles through the bath of coating material tends to stir the contents of the bath. Likewise,- the continual withdrawal of material from the bath by the receptacles and 140 the discharge of surplus coating from the re ceptacles into the bath assist in keeping the contents of the bath in circulation. This action is of particular advantage when the coating material consists of bitumen admixed with pulverulent mineral or other filler materials commonly used as weather protective coatings for roofing and the like.

Various modifications of the above described process and apparatus will be apparent to one 150 skilled in the art. The invention herein set forth is intended to cover any method or apparatus for coating shingles or shingle strips in a continuous manner wherein the coating material and the shingle elements are moved in substantially the same direction and at the same. speed during the coating operation.

I claim as my invention:

1. A method of treating shingle elements which comprises immersing said elements in a bath of asphaltic coating material, moving said elements and said bath in the same direction at substantially the same rate of speed, releasing the remaining coating from said bathinto a master bath supply, and removing the elements from the bath, refilling said bath to a predetermined level from the master bath supply and feeding the refilled bath into the path of movement of a second element for immersion of the latter therein.

2. A continuous method of treating shingle elements which comprises immersing the'elements while in motion in a bath of asphaltic coating material, moving at substantially the same speed as said elements, conveying the bath with the elements immersed therein through a predetermined path, releasing the residual coating from said bath into a master bath supply, and removing the elements from the bath, refilling said bath to a predetermined level from the master bath supply and feeding the refilled bath into the path of movement of a second element for immersion of the latter therein.

3. A continuous method of treating shingle elements which comprises immersing successive elements while in motion in separate baths of waterproof coating material, moving at substantially the same speed as said elements through a predetermined path, releasing the residual coating from said baths into a master bath supply, refilling each of said baths to a predetermined level from said master bath supply, feeding the refilled baths successively into the path of movement of successive elements for immersion of the latter successively in individual ones of said baths.

'4. A method of treating shingle elements which comprises advancing a series of elements in spaced relation, advancing a series of inde-, pendent baths of .waterproof coating material toward said elements, iimnersing said elements in said baths and moving the baths with the elements innnersed therein through a predetermined path, subsequently discharging the coating material from each of said baths into a master bath supply of the coating material, refilling said baths from the master bath supply to a predetermined level and feeding the same for'immersion of succeeding elements in the series therein;

BERNARD ,C. BECKMAN. 

